Dissolution
by Metal Works
Summary: After all that had happened, what with the squidnapping and hypnoshades nonsense, Callie really had been looking forward to finally stepping back on stage and standing alongside Marie once more as the Squid Sisters. She knew there would be a fair amount of work put into getting back into the rhythm of things. It's just... There's no way she could have seen this coming.


**I wanted to try something new for once and settled on this idea I've had for a while now. I'm not overly familiar with Splatoon or how things work in-universe so I may get things wrong every now and again, but I'll do my best to keep things consistent and canon-compliant. **

**This is set after Splatoon 2, a little while after Octo Expansion. Hope it's entertaining for the few people that stop to check it out! ^^**

**WARNINGS: Mild Gore and Cursing, some pretty heavy stuff right out the gate. **

**Word Count: 1,260**

~START~

Bright lights flooded the venue, painting Callie's form in vibrant neon greens and pastel pinks as golden irises stared out into the crowds, fixated on the odd glint of something in the distance. Though the intensity of the stage lights hue obscured her sight, the shape of the object almost made her pause— but it couldn't be, right? Her voice wavered, movements slowing as her eyes shifted to glimpse a flash of green to her left.

It felt like time itself had come to a crawl.

From the crowd, a scream rang out, set apart from the rest by the sheer terror coursing through it. Callie felt her breath escape her as something heavy crashed into her side, wrapping around the front of her body as if to shield her from whatever had created the loud bang reverberating over the booming speakers.

A deafening silence filled the venue as the music was abruptly cut, leaving the audience members reeling from shock as they stared up at their beloved idols, eyes wide and mouths agape. Callie could only continue to stare blankly out into the hazy crowd as the sting of something wet began a slow roll down her cheek.

"M-Marie...?"

Callie's voice tumbled out into the mouthpiece of her headset, echoing in the silence like a pin being dropped. And just like that, the once stunned audience launched into a frenzy of outstretched limbs— reaching out towards their idols as both slumped to the floor, Callie cradling the limp body of Marie in her arms as the shock began to subside.

She didn't understand...what happened?

The black-tentacled squid lowered her gaze to her cousin as medics finally arrived on the scene, rushing forward from backstage as security scrambled to secure the concert hall. It was all happening too quickly. Marie was removed from Callie's arms, stern voices laced with panic screaming to call an ambulance— but Callie couldn't hear a thing.

It felt like her world had suddenly stopped spinning— launching her forward without any way to catch herself...

She felt sick.

Wordlessly, she brushed off the liquid trailing down her face, holding up her hand to watch the small wet splotch on her glove spread through the fabric like fire. It burned her skin. Just a small drop burned her...and yet Marie—

A small sob crawled its way up her throat, eyes blurry with tears as she frantically looked around for her cousin. Gentle gloved hands reached out to hold her still, but Callie wanted to fight them off. She wanted to kick and scream— to find Marie and hear her say she was alright...

But when her golden eyes finally landed on her cousin's form, it felt as if her heart had stopped beating. All the fight in her system had drained at the sight of Marie lying face down on the stage floor, dress ripped at the top as medics worked quickly to dry off the acid-like liquid burning through her skin. Large bubbles marred the pale idols flesh like magma pockets fit to burst, contrasting horribly with her complexion.

This couldn't be happening...

Callie clutched at her mouth, ignoring the sting of her own injuries as two Inklings tried their best to calm her down. Her mind was switching in and out of focus, vision swaying as nausea crept up on her from the pits of her stomach. She felt so sick...

"She's going into shock! Where's the damn ambulance?!"

Another sob escaped her as she was hoisted up by the two onsite medics, unable to support her own weight on her own. It was like the world was on fire and she was trapped in the middle of it, unable to move from the sudden onslaught of tragedy she was thrust into. She could hear the screaming now— the panic from her adoring fans as she was carried away from them, the soft cries still resonating from Marie's headset...

She could hear it all, and it terrified her to know things had gone so wrong in a matter of seconds. Her fans...her innocent fans— this shouldn't have happened. Callie wished she could take it all back. She wished she had just listened to Marie and postponed the concert until everything had calmed down.

But she hadn't.

She hadn't listened, and someone had tried to— but instead they—

Oh cod...

Why hadn't she listened?

Marie was hurt... Marie was hurt— someone had _shot_ her. They had been trying to shoot _Callie_, not Marie! But Marie— Oh, Marie...

As she was carried out of sight, the only thing she could think to utter was, "Please be okay..." before her world went dark.

* * *

"Hey hey! Y'all know what time it is!"

"It's Off the Hook, coming at you live from Inkopolis Square..."

An Inkling with short cream-colored tentacles reclined back in her seat, eyes weary as she turned her attention to her co-host at the DJ booth. The Octoling in question merely swiped one of her tentacles over her shoulder, playing with the records as she made no attempt to hide the obvious frown etched into her face.

The Inkling titered, averting her eyes back to the camera with a crooked smile.

"So, Marina— you hear about what happened at the Calamari Concert last night?"

"You mean about the...you know?" Marina still had her downcast gaze locked on her vinyl, making it pretty apparent to anyone watching that the usual banter between the two would be lacking for the day's broadcast.

"Ah-ha, pretty, uh— pretty vague, but yeah. It's crazy, right?" Now it was Pearl's turn to look uncomfortable. "I...I can't believe that actually happened, like, um. That's _never_ happened before...crazy."

An awkward silence fell over the studio.

"_So anyway_, moving onto the rotations-"

"Do you think Marie is going to be alright?" Marina interjected, cutting off Pearl before she could successfully change the subject.

Pearl faltered slightly. "I- Well...of course! She's Marie, isn't she?"

The teal tipped Octoling nodded numbly, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

"I heard the shooter was a fan of ours," Marina continued softly. Her eyes crinkled around the edges, as if struggling to find the words to accurately convey the situation burned into her mind. "He modified a Splat Charger and pumped it full of water... They say he was aiming for Callie, but I dunno..."

"Hey, Marina..." Pearl sat up straight, reaching out toward the Octoling only to draw her hand back with a frown. "Maybe we shouldn't be talkin' bout this just yet...Like, it's still a pretty recent event and like, we might just make the viewers at home worry all for nothin'."

"I just— can't believe a fan of ours would do this...it's awful— horrible, even..." Marina drummed her nails against the shiny black record, before seeming to snap out of her trance, flustering slightly. "I-I mean, you're right! I'm sorry! We really don't know enough about the situation to properly cover it! Outside of...rumors, that is."

"You know it! Just chill out Mar, it'll all be fine." Pearl grinned, flashing a peace sign toward the camera. "Now, bout those rotations..."

"Ah, y-yeah, of course! I'm on it!"

_Click. _

"That's...enough TV for today."

Callie dropped her hand back onto the pristine white bedsheets pooled around her waist, clutching the remote tightly in her grip as she leaned back against the headboard. She exhaled heavily, taking in the quiet permeating the air.

There, in a room full of nothing but white walls and sterile medical equipment, Callie sat alone on her temporary bed, staring at the black screen of a large complementary tv; the only splotch of color in the dull space.

There, in the room all alone, Callie tried not to cry.

~END CHAPTER~

**And boom, first chapter of my first Splatoon fic done. Wasn't too difficult, though I did get distracted reading a bunch of wiki entries for the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook. I had no idea Pearl came from a rich family, though it makes sense. **

**To anyone confused on what transpired in this chapter, someone basically tried to snipe Callie with a modified Charger full of water (I hear water is really bad for them? Correct me if I'm wrong) and Marie shielded Callie with her body, thus getting severely hurt in the process. The concert they held was something akin to the real-life concerts (NicoNico?), so they were actually indoors right next to each other on stage as opposed to standing on trucks outside like in Splatoon 1. **

**Still trying to figure out where I want to take this story from here- I've always had this base idea in my head but I never knew where to take it. That's part of the fun I suppose ^^**

**Until next time.**

**See ya.**


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